Chemistry of Baking

On Level

Standards

After reviewing multiple cooking blogs, there is a problem that surfaces time and time again. Baking from scratch is described as difficult; there is often a high failure rate.

You are a successful baker who has been charged with revising and improving the quality of high failure baked goods (baked from scratch). One way to understand the causes of these failures is to better understand the chemical and/or physical role each ingredient plays in the recipe.In order to address this problem, you need to investigate and provide information about: which ingredients are “active” the role of these active ingredients what they react with the result of the reaction how they can contribute to the failure of the recipe.

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

In order to share your knowledge with the culinary world, you will choose an existing recipe that seems to have a high failure rate and test the significance of one or more of the active ingredients to the final baked good. You will write an article for a culinary magazine or blog describing what you have discovered.

What do we know?

Make a list of all of those things that you already know about this problem/situation.

What do we need to know?

• Make a list of all of those things that you need to learn or know in order to adequately solve this problem.

• Be sure to look at the requirements for the culinary article to assist you with making this list.

• Research the answers to these questions. We will also have class activities that will help in finding these answers.

How is the solution presented?In order to share your knowledge with the culinary world, you will choose an existing recipe that seems to have a high failure rate and test the significance of one or more of the active ingredients to the final baked good. You will write an article for a culinary magazine or blog describing what you have discovered.You must:• Create a professional article for a culinary magazine or blog that includes your

hypothesis, research, testing procedure, data and follow up analysis of your findings• Develop a journal article based on your experiment that can be included in a culinary

magazine or blog The article must include: Problem addressed Your hypothesis and useful research Detailed explanation of your testing procedure Written and pictorial results (of your actual baked goods) Clear explanation of your results and the importance of your results (How can this

reduce the current failure rate of this recipe?)

OPTIONAL SECONDARY SOLUTION PRESENTATIONIf your culinary article or blog postings bring you popularity and fame in the “foodie” world, you may need to prepare an instructional presentation for a live audience.This presentation should include:• Brief overview of recipe problem (failure)• Explanation of how you found the solution to the problem• Actual product comparison of the recipe before and after the modifications were

made. (taste testing permitted by audience members)

Process

We will investigate:MixturesCompoundsChemical reaction typesNomenclatureSolutions & Acids/Bases